Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu’s dream of becoming the first Indian athlete to win three Olympic medals came to an end on Thursday (August 1) after she suffered a heartbreaking defeat against He Bing Jiao of China during her pre-quarterfinal match of the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.
Sindhu, who won a silver medal in the Rio Olympics and a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, went down against the world No. 9 shuttler in straight sets. She lost the match with a scoreline of 21-19, 21-14, in 56 minutes.
Sindhu’s exit from the Paris Olympics 2024 came as a surprise to Indian fans, and the 29-year-old star Indian also admitted that her defence let her down in the pre-quarterfinal.
“I should have controlled in terms of a little bit of mistakes on my defense is what I felt,” Sindhu said, reflecting on the reason for her defeat.
However, she has no regrets regarding her preparations for the Games, as she did everything she could to be in the best shape. Sindhu had a training camp in Germany and also joined forces with mentor Prakash Padukone for better preparation.
“Everybody worked hard, so we’ve done whatever we could. Rest is destiny. I don’t regret it,” she said.
“I kept fighting still because, you never know, anything can happen. Both of us were fighting for each point because, until the end, you can’t expect. It’s not easy win or easy points; you can’t think that you have finished the game.”
Bing Jiao’s smashes and soft drops had Sindhu scurrying on both sides of the court. But when Sindhu attacked, the Chinese defended well.
“She has that jump smash. Even my smashes, I think, which were mid-court, they were just going out when she was challenging.
“I should have hit them inside, and I should have gotten those points where I’ve made those unforced errors.
“She got much more confident in that because when I was hitting, she was defending, but still, for some points that were really mid-court, I was hitting just out or just into her hand.”
It was neck-and-neck in the first game, with Sindhu and her rival locked 19-19. The two-time Olympic medalist said winning the game from that position could have changed things for her.
“It’s sad that I couldn’t convert it to win, especially in the first game because it was 19 all at some point.
“I think if it would have been the other way, especially when I challenged it. If I had won the first set, maybe it would have been different. But I think it was… I mean, there were rallies, and it was going well, but only one can win.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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